Aerial cannon



Patented Sept. 4, 1945 AERIAL CANNON Harry F.Lee, Grand Junction, Colo. M Y

Application July 4, 1944, Serial No. 543,483

1 Claim.

This application is made under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended by the act of April 30, 1928, and the invention herein described, if patented, may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

My invention relates to aerial bombs, and has for its object the provision of an aerial bomb for discharging a concentration of shot in a manner similar to the action of a cannon.

Other objects will appear from the following description.

In the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specication, the gure is a vertical section of an aerial bomb embodying my invention.

As illustrated, my aerial cannon comprises a stream-lined body 2 equipped with fins 3 at one end to maintain the body 2 in a stable position during ight, adapted at the other end to receive a nose cap 4, and having a central opening eX- tending from the end receiving the nose cap 4 throughout substantially its entire length to form a barrel 5. A portion of the barrel 5 toward the nn end of the body 2 is of reduced diameter and constitutes a powder chamber 6. Powder (not shown) is held in the chamber 6 by wads 1 and 8. Wad 8 also serves, together with a wad 9, to hold a shot charge I in place. A re control assembly is arranged toward the nose end of the barrel 5. This assembly consists of a threaded shaft II carried by a bearing I2 in the nose cap 4 and a bearing I3 in a, spacer plate I4. The plate I4 is made of electric insulating material and fits into the barrel against the wad 9. The shaft I I extends beyond the nose cap 4 a distance suiicient to allow the attachment of a propeller I5 designed for rotation vby air currents when the bomb is in ght. A plate I5 is tted on the inside of the nose cap 4, and is held in spaced relation with the plate I4 by two rods I1 and I8. A nut` I9 disposed on thel threaded shaft II has a lateral arm containing a, circular opening which rides the rod I'I. The nut I9 is constructed so that it is electrically insulated from both the shaft II and the rod I'I by annular inserts 20 and 2I, but the remainder of the nut I9 constitutes an electrical conductor. The rod I'I is formed at its point of attachment to the plate` I6 into a contact point 22 which is aligned with the conducting portion of the nut I9. The rod I8 is electrically insulated from the plate I6 and is tted with a bracket 23 which contacts dry cell batteries 24 and also holds them in contact with the plate I6. A ber tube 25 extending through (Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 870 0. G. 757) openings in wads "I, 8, and 9 holds a firing cap 26 in position in the powder chamber 6 and contains circuit wires 2'I and 28. The circuit wire 21 connects with the rod I8 at the plate I4 while the circuit wire 28 is led through an opening in the plate I4 and connects with the conducting portion of the nut I9.

The re control mechanism is actuated by the turning motion imparted to the propeller I5 -by air currents when the bomb is in flight. This turning motion revolves the shaft II, and as nut I9 is prevented from turning by the lateral arm which rides the rod I'I, it travels toward the nose end of the shaft I I. When the nut I9 reaches the contact point 22 formed on the rod I'I, an electric circuit through the firing cap 26 is closed. 'I'his circuit runs from the ring cap 25 through the wire 21 to the rod I8, then from the rod I8 to the bracket 23 and through the batteries 24 to the plate I6, across the plate I6 to the rod Il and the contact point 22 which is in contact with the nut I9, and then back to the ring cap 26 by way of wire 28. Thewire 28 is formed into an extensible coil 29 near its point of attachment to the nut I9 to provide sufficient length for full traverse of the threaded portion of the shaft II by the nut I9. The closing of the circuit causes the firing cap 26 to detonate the charge in the powder chamber 6, and thus re the shot I0 from the barrel 5 in a manner quite analogous to the action of a muzzle-loaded cannon.

It will be seen that the time necessary for the nut I9 to reach the contact point 22 will depend on the initial position of the nut I9 on the shaft I I, and on the speed of rotation of the shaft II. Accordingly, if the speed of rotation of the shaft I I can be made substantially constant, the timing will depend only on the nitial position of the nut I9. To accomplish this result, a governing mechanism is provided. Two spring steel arms 3D, which `are lipped at their free ends, are attached to the shaft II inside the nose cap 4. A set screw 3|, provided with a lock nut 32, is arranged in the nose cap to act as a retarding brush for the arms 30. Thus, by adjusting the set screw 3l, a drag can be imposed on the shaft II to control the speed of rotation so that the timing of the bomb can be set within practical limits by proper positioning of the nut I9 at the time of assembly.

My invention is particularly adapted to ground straling. When dropped from a considerable height, the shot will be discharged vertically, While when released from a low-flying plane, the shot will be discharged almost horizontally.

Variations between these two limits will give any intermediate angle desired. The barrel 5 can be loaded to near its bursting point, and as it is relatively short and contains a large shot charge I0, a broad fire pattern results.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

An aerial bomb comprising a casing, a ,barrel formed in said casing 'and opening :through the end of said casing which is forward in iight, a cover over the opening of said barrel, a charge of shot in said barrel, an explosive charge positioned in said barrel to exert an expelling iforce on said charge of shot when detonated, Yan electricaldetonating cap adjacent to said explosive charge, a source of electrical energy mounted in said barrel, electrical conducting means forming' an open circuit between said source of electrical energy and said detonating cap, a shaft rotatably mounted in said barrel, a propeller mounted externally on said casing and adapted for rotation by air currents during the ight of the bomb, means connecting said propeller -for rotation of said .sha-ft, means for regulating the speed of rotation of said shaft, screw-threads on said shaft, .and a follower cooperating with said screwthreads, whereby said follower is advanced by the rotation of said shaft to close the circuit formed b y said conducting means.

HARRY F. LEE. 

